Contextualism/Universalism

Marrying minors was normal in 7th-century Arabia, the context of the Prophet ﷺ. It was therefore not viewed as unethical. Ideas of puberty, maturity, and family law are influenced by culture and are therefore not universal. Many proponents of this approach point out that ʿĀisha’s age was never an issue before the 20th-century, as prior to this time pre-or early pubescent marriages were common in most societies around the world.[10] This approach separates certain elements of the Sunnah (and also certain Qurʾānic commands) into either being historical-cultural or ahistorical-universal, implying different ethical norms and applicability. Classically, there have always been elements of the Qurʾān and Sunnah that were determined, by the majority of scholars, to be historically and culturally confined. These elements were viewed as either being abrogated or specific to the Prophet ﷺ and/or his Companions as the well-being (maṣlaḥa) pursued by the divine commands is determined both by contextual and universal factors, and was replaced by new commands, or non-transferable and therefore specific, when new contexts and situations arose. This, seemingly, was also the reason why the Ḥanafī and Mālikī jurists did not include the ʿĀisha-age traditions in their discussions of minor marriage.[11] Both the historical and ahistorical elements of the Qurʾān and Sunnah were deemed to be in line with universal ethical norms, as God only commands the good.[12] These scholars also applied ethical-hermeneutical norms in interpreting the Qurʾān and Sunnah, but also viewed these universal norms as discernable apart from revelation.[13] Several modern scholars, on the other hand, define this historical-ahistorical dichotomy based on modern, mainly Western, ethical norms, and viewing the classical-Islamic ethical norms mainly as ‘outdated.’[14] Classically, the contents of the ʿĀisha-age-traditions were viewed as specific to the Prophet ﷺ and, at the same time, not seen as conflicting with universal ethical norms. This was because the consummation of the marriage apparently took place only when ʿĀisha was physically ready, thereby not causing harm to her, which was the main ethical criterion in classical thought. But according to several modern scholars, this consummation, even if it was physically possible without harm, is not acceptable by modern notions of maturity. They therefore view it through the lens of cultural relativism or evolutionary ethics. What is specific to the Prophet ﷺ and his times is also ethically contextual or outdated and has no universal import.